Does bullying have long term effects on the lives of their victims?

Victims of bullying are left with severe long term effects

What does it mean to be defined as a bully? A bully is defined as someone who intentionally seeks to harm or intimidate those whom they perceive as vulnerable. Bullying is a form of abuse, and is a narcissistic sort of act. Bullying has been a social injustice problem for many decades now. Bullies are imagined to take place in a school setting, and often be described as someone who is older and bigger than their victim. However, there are many situations where that is not the case. By clicking here, it displays Carolin's bullying story. Where she shares her experience, explaining what she went through as well as what she was feeling at a young age. Just about everyone has seen or experienced bullying at least once in their lifetime. However, the severity and long term effects bullying has on their victims is what surprises people the most. Bullying comes in many different forms, all of which can severely affect the victim long term. Physical, Verbal, Mental, Social, and Cyberbullying are the many different types of bullying that have long term effects. The severity of these long term effects are overlooked and need to be taken more seriously. Bullying has been shown to leave victims feeling lonely, depressed, isolated, and even suicidal. 

Bullying has many long term effects on its victims. Such as being at higher risk of having anxiety disorders, panic attacks, depression, PTSD, as well as a decline in self-esteem, all of which play an important role in adulthood.

 Anxiety disorders in adulthood play a huge role in the effects of bullying. According to the article “Effects of Bullying Lasts into Adulthood, Study Finds” from The NY Times. Researchers found that “victims of bullying in childhood were 4.3 times more likely to have an anxiety disorder as adults, compared to those with no history of bullying or being bullied.” When looking at this article, take into consideration the children who are victims of bullying. These victims constantly think about every interaction and insult they have encountered at such a young age. The constant worrying becomes excessive, to the point where symptoms of an anxiety disorder begin to occur. In another article, it discusses the likelihood of an anxiety disorder occurring from bullying compared to those uninvolved in bullying. The article is titled “Long Term Effects Of Bullying: Pain Lasts Into Adulthood” in which this article demonstrates the likelihood of an anxiety disorder to occur resulting from being bullied. As stated in the article, “pure victims were four times as likely to develop an anxiety disorder in adulthood compared with kids who were uninvolved in bullying. Bully/victims had a five-times greater risk of depression than uninvolved kids, as well as 10 times the likelihood of suicidal thoughts or actions and 15 times the likelihood of developing a panic disorder.” Within this quote it supports how the likelihood of gaining anxiety, feeling depressed or suicidal drastically increased, resulting in being bullied. 

 Depression is another long-term effect of bullying, which causes one to feel sad and lonely. Depression is defined as a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. When looking for signs of depression, look for a change in behavior, lack of excitement, as well as a change in relationships. Another one of the long term effects bullying has on the lives of its victims is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either from experiencing it or witnessing it. In the article “Childhood bullying can cause lifelong psychological damage – here’s how to spot the signs and move on”. Research has shown that “40.5% of girls and 27.6% of boys show PTSD symptoms at the time of being bullied.” Those percentages are not something people should be proud of. Which is why I am drawing attention to the severity and long-term effects bullying has on people. The most severe outcome from these mental illnesses is suicide. Under many circumstances, has suicide resulted from bullying. According to "Bullying Statistics" "Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likley to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University." Suicide is a very serious result of bullying. 

There are situations where people may say “brush it off you'll be fine”, however this does little to help the actual problem at hand. Victims of bullying may often hear someone say “toughen up” “man up” or “stop acting like a baby”. This is typically said when the victims are being seen as sensitive. However, it's important to note their feelings are valid and should not be overlooked. As there are some severe long term effects that result in this. Being bullied is such a huge part of an individual’s world, and is clearly a traumatic experience. This should come to no surprise that it may leave lasting scars. These lasting scars consist of anxiety disorders, depression, post-trumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as suicide. Attention and change needs to be brought upon this topic, as severe, long-lasting effects are affecting the future of these victims.